UnderMiner
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2014
- Messages
- 3,993
- Reaction score
- 10,538
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- 2
- Location
- New York City
- 🥇 Banner finds
- 2
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Excalibur II, Equinox 800
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Haven't posted here in quite awhile but figured you guys would probably get a kick out of this one. Found this cup yesterday after raiding some local trash piles. It is silver with what look to be like some early American pseudo-Sterling marks on the bottom. There is an inscription on the front in an intricately hand-carved crest that reads "To Minnie from Edw,d [Edward?] & Banks 1859."
Wonder who was this 'Minnie' was, perhaps a child and this was gift from her relatives Edward and Banks. The cup appears to have been made for a child.
Here is the bottom with the markings, the one on the left resembles a British Lion but it isn't, and the mark to the right looks to be a wolf. No idea if these are hallmarks or maker's marks. Early 19th century American silver did not require purity marks so they usually only displayed a maker mark, these may be an attempt at a pseudo-official purity stamp (the lion for Sterling) and the wolf as a symbol for the maker, but this is just my own speculation.
Wonder who was this 'Minnie' was, perhaps a child and this was gift from her relatives Edward and Banks. The cup appears to have been made for a child.
Here is the bottom with the markings, the one on the left resembles a British Lion but it isn't, and the mark to the right looks to be a wolf. No idea if these are hallmarks or maker's marks. Early 19th century American silver did not require purity marks so they usually only displayed a maker mark, these may be an attempt at a pseudo-official purity stamp (the lion for Sterling) and the wolf as a symbol for the maker, but this is just my own speculation.
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